FORBES: Who Leaked ‘Sword And Shield’ Secrets? Pokémon Lawyers Want To Catch ‘Em All

[efr]

I like the current game.

But Gamefreak is trying to selling a scam and admitting the leaks were right and the game was underdeveloepd? How does leaking information about a game hurt its sales? Make the game better looking next time?

 

[Gotdatmoney]

Uhh guys, I was one of the ones posting the leaked images in the thread here. Are Nintendo ninjas going to Epstein me? 😥😥😥

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Nintendo ninjas can't do shit to you if you didn't sign an NDA. You and Nintendo have no contract and you don't owe them any duty of care to not post pictures that already exist on the internet. Even then, they wouldn't target you as an individual. Theybwould targer the admin of places like Era, Reddit etc and tell them to stop the distribution of copyrighted information.

Individual citizens normally dont make enough money to even be worth litigation.

 

[PortisheadBiscuit]

The leakers deserve it, they may not have done permanent damage to the brand but the leaks put a huge damper on the launch.

 

[Gotdatmoney]

Oh yeah, absolutely another matter. They probably don't even have any expectation of success for this lawsuit right now, it's mainly to deter future leaks I'd imagine.

But again, lawyers generally don't get anything done if they don't throw everything they can at a case. It's basically their job to look at all avenues for potential success and argue that their case goes to those extremes.

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I would assume that this is to track the source of the leak and slap the wrist of the employee's company.

Conspiracy theory would be they want admin of places like 4Chan and Reddit to clamp down on leaks of their product so this is a power move. Similar to NPD hitting Era with these legal action will be taken if you dont disallow leaks here.

The leakers deserve it, they may not have done permanent damage to the brand but the leaks put a huge damper on the launch.

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It's literally to no ones benefit but a giant ass corporation that these leakers get cuaght. At the end of the day literally nothing was lost by any party because of guidebook leaks. Nothing was even lost due to the more substantial leaks

 

[Trey]

I mean, unless they have strong corroborating physical evidence tying a person to the act of disseminating the strategy guide outside the bounds of an NDA, I don't really know what they can expect. You could barely make out anything in those photos.

 

[Lobster Roll]

Spoiler / Leaks culture sucks. Somebody leaked information of the game which was then cleared up via 100 reviews, 40,000 channels on twitch, and millions of word-of-mouth accounts of gameplay experiences. But sure, lick the corporate boots that are stomping to find some dude who leaked information about the game.

 

[Atheerios]

Most of you clearly haven't even read the document.

This is a lawsuit against one person who leaked the guide weeks before it launched. It's very likely that person was either an employee at TPCi or its affiliates and signed an NDA, that's why they can bring them to court.

 

[Podge293]

Was defo the OP Nintendo

 

[Nome]

How is this not sleezy

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Irreparable injury/harm has a legal definition in the US. It's not two random words put together to sound scary.

There is nothing sleazy about this.

 

[PortisheadBiscuit]

I would assume that this is to track the source of the leak and slap the wrist of the employee's company.

Conspiracy theory would be they want admin of places like 4Chan and Reddit to clamp down on leaks of their product so this is a power move. Similar to NPD hitting Era with these legal action will be taken if you dont disallow leaks here.



It's literally to no ones benefit but a giant ass corporation that these leakers get cuaght. At the end of the day literally nothing was lost by any party because of guidebook leaks. Nothing was even lost due to the more substantial leaks

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Sets a dangerous precedent to not take action against the leakers. You may personally not be impacted but if the Pokemon Compmay feels they were, it's their right to take action.

 

[Phellps]

I like the current game.

But Gamefreak is trying to selling a scam and admitting the leaks were right and the game was underdeveloepd? How does leaking information about a game hurt its sales? Make the game better looking next time?

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They did not claim the leaks hurt sales. There is no scam here. They are not admitting anything.

 

[Splader]

Leaks suck. I don't agree with how Pokemon handled dexit and it's announcements, but all you really had to do was just wait a day or two after the game releases to see if you want it or not.

Irreparable damage is stupid, but I do hope the leakers have some kind of legal reparation.

 

[TreeMePls]

The leakers deserve it, they may not have done permanent damage to the brand but the leaks put a huge damper on the launch.

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GameFreak did a fantastic job doing that themselves for months now

 

[PortisheadBiscuit]

GameFreak did a fantastic job doing that themselves for months now

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To Dexit whiners, yes

 

[Moebius]

If the leaks caused "irreparable injury" to Pokémon, I'd love to know what removing half the Pokemon caused, because that seems far worse.

Spoiler

#joke

 

[Deleted member 11413]

Not sure about that "irreparable injury" lol

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If this ever becomes a case that gets in front of a judge they will have a hell of a time proving 'irreparable injury'.

Most likely it will go nowhere though.

 

[Finale Fireworker]

To Dexit whiners, yes

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And just a lot of fans in general. There's plenty to be upset about besides that.

 

[Deleted member 11413]

The leakers deserve it, they may not have done permanent damage to the brand but the leaks put a huge damper on the launch.

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This is a very dumb take.

 

[Zomba13]

Not sure about that "irreparable injury" lol

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Seeing the sales of this gen, maybe more devs could have leakers leaking shit if this is "irreparable injury".

 

[Arynio]

I mean the leaks convinced me to not buy Pokemon. The Pokemon Company harmed their own brand. But only to me and a select few, the Pokemon brand is still going strong and will never actually be harmed. Silly corporations.

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I agree with this. Obviously leaks are wrong and harmful, but honestly, TPC's terrible communication throughout this year has been the most harmful matter, I think.

 

[PortisheadBiscuit]

This is a very dumb take.

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This drive by reply isn't much better...

 

[Gotdatmoney]

Sets a dangerous precedent to not take action against the leakers.

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No it really does not. Stuff leaks all the time. Companies decide where and when to apply their efforts to clamp down on leaks. It doesn't set any precedent in choosing what leaks they are personally going to tackle nor how they plan to punish bodies that diseminate leaks. Please.

You may personally not be impacted but if the Pokemon Compmay feels they were, it's their right to take action.

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No one said anything about rights. You bringing this up is a deflection. I said it is to the benefit of no one besides the billion dollar corporation that leakers get put down. Whether they feel they were hurt (they weren't but I doubt this is about damages and more about sending a message) or not is literally no reason for your average forum nobody to be rooting for a corporation to lay the legal smack down on someone taking some blurry ass photos. Its clown shoes if you're on that side.

 

[blueredandgold]

Telling you now, the leaks conflated with actual previews and news drops for me.

No problem admitting that, and I recognise those involved with the game at ever level would be livid about it.

But sure 'screw Nintendo' etc....

 

[Lugia]

Isn't it common sense to sue the leakers that were given copies of the game/ guide books before the release date?

Why are people mad at this?. Good on them for doing the right thing.

 

[efr]

They did not claim the leaks hurt sales. There is no scam here. They are not admitting anything.

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"wrote that the leaks had caused "irreparable injury" to Pokémon and the company "is entitled to damages in an amount to be proven at trial."

Sure sounds like they want money because they think it hurt sales. Sure seems like they are upset by the leaks being true and due to "irreparable injury."
Sounds like a scam to save face over the leaks being true and making the company look stupid.

Game is still fun imo tho

 

[Zacmortar]

pokemon lawyers are kinda dicks. One of my artist friends just got a C&D from them for making pokemon art and selling it at conventions. Meanwhile convention floors are wall to wall people selling all kinds of fan art from other anime, to marvel, and DC. Nothing happens to them. It's not even like my friend has an enormous following. They also forced her to take any Pokémon related stuff off her social media

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This is why TPCi was a mistake and should never have been created

They're the disney of gaming and its so goddamn disgusting

 

[Inugami]

This isn't about the specific Pokemon not included in the game "leaking" as that was datamines from preinstalls. This is about the other leaks the weeks before launch I'd bet.

 

[PortisheadBiscuit]

No it really does not. Stuff leaks all the time. Companies decide where and when to apply their efforts to clamp down on leaks. It doesn't set any precedent in choosing what leaks they are personally going to tackle nor how they plan to punish bodies that diseminate leaks. Please.



No one said anything about rights. You bringing this up is a deflection. I said it is to the benefit of no one besides the billion dollar corporation that leakers get put down. Whether they feel they were hurt (they weren't but I doubt this is about damages and more about sending a message) or not is literally no reason for your average forum nobody to be rooting for a corporation to lay the legal smack down on someone taking some blurry ass photos. Its clown shoes if you're on that side.

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You can flip that and say there is no reason for forum nobodies defending hackers either. Some of us find hacking disgusting. If Gamefreak wanted the game leaked, they would have done so themselves. If hackers take it upon themselves to circumvent rules, they should face whatever hammer is waiting for them.

 

[Quinton]

Some people were calling the leakers cowards afraid of TPC every time they'd temporarily disable a stream.

Yeah, uh, being afraid of legal reprisal is kind of reasonable.

 

[Deleted member 34873]

How dare people find out exactly what product they are purchasing before they pay for it.

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People who have no clue what they're talking about. Exhibit A.

 

[MegaXZero]

"wrote that the leaks had caused "irreparable injury" to Pokémon and the company "is entitled to damages in an amount to be proven at trial."

Sure sounds like they want money because they think it hurt sales. Sure seems like they are upset by the leaks being true and due to "irreparable injury."
Sounds like a scam to save face over the leaks being true and making the company look stupid.

Game is still fun imo tho

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This is about the guide leaks, not the datamine. The only thing leaked from the books was pics of gigantamax Pokémon, a postgame gift, and starter typing. The document makes it clear this is about the guidebook leak.

 

[Syriel]

While I'm the first to admit that I looked at the leaks as soon as they showed up, I agree that leakers should be punished because what they're doing is wrong. Breaking the law for Internet points is dumb.

On the other hand, "irreparable damage" is a bit of an overreaction considering the sale numbers Sword and Shield are getting, so...

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It really depends on how they got the info. Breaking the law is a questionable argument. Breaking a contract is likely. But there are also no liability explanations.

Is it even possible to take legal action against somebody who got the game early from a broken street date?

I know some of the leakers were apparently reviewers, and obviously whoever was responsible for the Affleck leak was the real deal, but some of them (claim) to have picked up the game from a local store.

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Like this. A reviewer who gets a copy under embargo/NDA can be sued if they leak. Someone who buys a game at a store can blab as much as they like and any attempt at a lawsuit is going to get laughed out of court and followed up with an anti-SLAPP countersuit.

Like anything under the law, it all comes down to the details.

 

[PortisheadBiscuit]

I would assume that this is to track the source of the leak and slap the wrist of the employee's company.

Conspiracy theory would be they want admin of places like 4Chan and Reddit to clamp down on leaks of their product so this is a power move. Similar to NPD hitting Era with these legal action will be taken if you dont disallow leaks here.



It's literally to no ones benefit but a giant ass corporation that these leakers get cuaght. At the end of the day literally nothing was lost by any party because of guidebook leaks. Nothing was even lost due to the more substantial leaks

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So I guess Gamefreak should just sit back and let the leaks keep happening? Yes we know leaks happen in 2019, but I think putting zero effort to prevent them from happening isn't good either... And I believe people should face consequences for shitty behavior...

 

[StrappingYoungLance]

I too side with the corporation that wants to ruin these people's lives.

 

[Gotdatmoney]

So I guess Gamefreak should just sit back and let the leaks keep happening? Yes we know leaks happen in 2019, but I think putting zero effort to prevent them from happening isn't good either... And I believe people should face consequences for shitty behavior...

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Dunno why you're quoting the same post again but sure. TPCi (this isn't Game Freak) can pursue leaks however they want. I honestly don't care whether they do not they dont. They are a billion dollar corporation, I'm not shedding tears for them over having to contend with blurry ass pictures of a guidebook out there.

Putting no effort to prevent leaks is different from saying they are setting a precedent by not doing so. You wanna talk legal apparently, do not confuse these points.

Again, explain to me exactly what anyone besides the giant corporation that sold 6 million units in 3 days and owns the largest media franchise ever gets out of them crushing people over leaks? Even if the leaks were damaging I still do not grasp how anyone wants to side with a company sueing someone into legal oblivion.

Just tell me what is so great about that outcome?

I too side with the corporation that wants to ruin these people's lives.

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Basically this. Like what is wrong with some of yall.

 

[shadow2810]

Pokémon Company International is particularly peeved at people who posted pictures of previously unseen Pokémon from the Sword and Shield strategy guide on Discord and 4Chan earlier this month. The pictures were also shared on mainstream social social media networks like Facebook, Twitter and Imgur as well as on popular video game sites Polygon and Dot Esports. In total, the developer found 300 Web pages on "dozens of platforms that linked to websites containing the leaked Strategy Guide pictures," according to the suit.

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I don't really understand those comments making fun of "irreparable injury". Like if scans are already available widely in the internet, chance is people will be less likely to buy the guide book, which translates to less sales, no?

 

[Finale Fireworker]

So I guess Gamefreak should just sit back and let the leaks keep happening? Yes we know leaks happen in 2019, but I think putting zero effort to prevent them from happening isn't good either... And I believe people should face consequences for shitty behavior...

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Any preventative action should be internal. I think it makes sense to review the NDAs and deny certain people access in the future, possibly even fine them for breaking the agreement, but that's about all that makes sense to me.

As everyone has already observed, you can't undo the Internet. Once it escapes your control, it is pointless to do anything or punish anyone. You should review and revisit the point where you first lost control and take preventative action to prevent a similar occurrence from happening in the future.

Leaks are a risk of doing business and promoting your content. Once a leak happens, it can never unhappen. All you can sensibly do is plug that leak for next time. This sort of action TPC is taking seems more to scare people and discourage people from leaking in the future. But like the full history of video games demonstrates, this doesn't work.

I would say that TPC going after people like this stands more to hurt their reputation among their fanbase rather than protect their brand in any way. But that's just my two cents.

 

[Phellps]

"wrote that the leaks had caused "irreparable injury" to Pokémon and the company "is entitled to damages in an amount to be proven at trial."

Sure sounds like they want money because they think it hurt sales. Sure seems like they are upset by the leaks being true and due to "irreparable injury."
Sounds like a scam to save face over the leaks being true and making the company look stupid.

Game is still fun imo tho

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That are more to brand damage than just lost sales in a single release, though. And damage can be done by false information, which was rampant during the last two weeks before release, so they can claim damages but not say that any of that was true. Because a lot of the information that came out was, indeed, not.

 

[Illusion]

That are more to brand damage than just lost sales in a single release, though. And damage can be done by false information, which was rampant during the last two weeks before release, so they can claim damages but not say that any of that was true. Because a lot of the information that came out was, indeed, not.

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Wouldn't the false information come from faker leakers anyways? Let alone will happen in general because people like spending their time making up stuff to try and get attention on the internet through lies.

 

[Syriel]

ruining a small time artists business when you are a billion dollar company seems petty. Other large companies don't seem to do that

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Eh, if your business relies on copyrighted content that others own, getting a C&D is the best possible outcome.

Companies generally don't have an issue with fan works, but once a fan crosses the love from free fan art to selling for cash many will come down like a hammer.

I have no idea why posting images from a book is considered illegal.

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Posting images can still be copyright infringement depending on context. Also, in this case, likely NDA/contract violation.

Not surprised to see people jumping to conclusions though, lol.

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Sorry, don't usually clock thru on Forbes articles because 9/10 are contributor clickbait.

This makes sense because the person would be in breach of contract. If somebody signed an NDA and then violated the NDA is doesn't really matter what the consequences were. All that matters is that they violated their NDA and can be held accountable for that.

I guess what doesn't add up to me is where the damages part comes from. If someone leaked the book because it was stolen or they were voiding their non-disclosure agreement, that makes sense. But whenever companies refer to damages I can't help but wonder what those damages are supposed to be.

The guidebook pictures were super blurry as well. They were purposefully obscured and cut off information. So it's not like the book was "released" online and hurt sales of the book. So sure, nail them for violating their NDA, but what were the damages?

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NDAs usually have liquidated damages listed.

I totally expected this to be a contributor article but nope it's Forbes staff. 😮

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This info should be in the OP.

 

[Wink784]

Companies can make all kind of rules about review embargoes and what not and decide whom to provide with copies, but there should be no world in which it is ok to sue individual persons in the name of brand power for spreading whatever information about a product. If they fail to control the message pre launch that's Game Freak's problem. No individual should be legally required to fall in line with any company's marketing. What a bunch of bollocks.

 

[dunkzilla]

Tbf I get where they're coming from, most of the people who spread the leaks said the new Pokémon all looked atrocious, while it seems most of us who played it enjoyed the new creatures.

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The leaked designs were overwhelmingly liked. Stop spreading bullshit.

 

[Maxina]

Companies can make all kind of rules about review embargoes and what not and decide whom to provide with copies, but there should be no world in which it is ok to sue individual persons in the name of brand power for spreading whatever information about a product. If they fail to control the message pre launch that's Game Freak's problem. No individual should be legally required to fall in line with any company's marketing. What a bunch of bollocks.

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You mean TPC/Nintendo's problem.

 

[Quacktion]

Sounds like they'l only get half of em then.

 

[BizzyBum]

I too side with the corporation that wants to ruin these people's lives.

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People treat corporations like their best friend so I'm not surprised.

 

[Deleted member 3010]

I commend the leakers, thanks to them I was able to learn all the devastating feature cuts to then cancel my preorder before it ships.

 

[EloquentM]

This thread is a mess lol

 

[Nax]

Leaks suck. And I hate leakers. Most are just trying to get a few minutes of fame.

That said, Pokemona Company may be going a little overboard here.

 

[Homura]

That are more to brand damage than just lost sales in a single release, though. And damage can be done by false information, which was rampant during the last two weeks before release, so they can claim damages but not say that any of that was true. Because a lot of the information that came out was, indeed, not.

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Nah
The only fake info prerelease were:
1) The game is <10 hours long
2) Freezes/crashes in battles
All the other criticisms are valid.

 

[Flame Lord]

Were the leakers not... People who got copies early? If so PCI and anyone defending them can fuck off. The idea anyone thinks it'd be reasonable for someone to have to sit in a jail cell or be permanently in debt over a games is fucking insane.

Edit: I see it's about the strategy guide, but do we know if it was some employee of the company that made it or just some random dude? I imagine it'd be even easier to get a hold of that.